Category Archives: News

Now available to order on the Count Arthur website. Count Arthur Strong’s Radio Show! Christmas Specials 2014-2015 (1CD). We will be delivering as soon as they come into the warehouse. Click here to order a copy now.

2014 – ARTHUR IN PANTOLAND?
Count Arthur is saved from the seemingly simple task of writing his Christmas cards by a call from the Vicar. An invitation to star in the local pantomime gets Arthur excited about a possible return to the stage.

2015 – THE CHRISTMAS ‘DO’
Christmas creeps up on Arthur, leaving him little time to plan his festive arrangements (“We’ve only just celebrated Easter!”). Could the lack of seasonal planning possibly see Arthur miss out on his turkey?

EXTRA LONDON DATE ADDED TO TOUR. We have added another show at the Leicester Square Theatre on Sunday 24th June. This will now make it the last day of the tour! To get your tickets (and I would be quick as they are going to sell fast!) go to https://tinyurl.com/yacdtynv Good Luck and see you there!

Alone, solo and by himself, with no one with him, the show business Colossasus (check that) takes us back on a journey through his early career. Using the latest technology and all that (I presume we’ve got a projector?) he will be delving into his own personal box of video cassettes and talking us (you) through the highlights of his glittering tv career, with many of his trademark stories we’ve come to love him for. If you only buy one ticket for something this year make sure it’s this and bring someone with you. You won’t be disappointed by him (me).

Count Arthur Strong will be recording two more episodes of his radio sitcom very soon.

Count Arthur Strong’s Radio Show! first aired on BBC Radio 4 in 2005 and ran for 7 series until 2012 when the former variety star transferred to BBC TV in his eponymous sitcom which was nominated for a BAFTA and was voted 4th best sitcom of the 21st Century in the Radio Times. Count Arthur Strong broadcast its third and final series on BBC1 in May and June, contending with a run broken by this year’s snap election and extended Wimbledon coverage.

In recent years Count Arthur Strong’s Radio Show has continued with seasonal specials, many of which have been broadcast on Christmas Day. Having won the Sony Award for Best Radio comedy in 2009, the series was voted the Best Radio Sitcom by The British Comedy Guide in 2016 (and many thanks to all of you who voted).

This year the BBBC have commissioned two episodes of Count Arthur Strong’s Radio Show!, one of which will be a Christmas special for this year with the 50th episode being broadcast later in 2018. We will be recording these on Monday 13th November 2017 at the Lowry in Salford. It’s going to be a great night with all the radio show regulars. We will start promptly at 7:30PM. For more information about The Lowry please click here or go to https://www.thelowry.com/

Hi Please note that you will not be able to get tickets direct from the venue box office or from any other online ticketing site. Last year they sold out in a matter of hours so don’t leave it too late. Good luck and hope to see you there.

Arthur will be appearing in Aladdin at the Richmond Theatre in London this festive season from 9th December to the 14th January

Also starring panto-legend Christopher Biggins, Fascinating Aïda and West End star Issy Van Randwyck and comedian Rikki Jay, we follow Aladdin, his hapless brother and of course his mother, Widow Twankey, on a spectacular adventure featuring a beautiful love story, flying carpets, a wish-granting genie, an evil sorcerer and a lamp packed full of spectacular family entertainment.

Aladdin promises all the ingredients of the perfect pantomime; a fabulous cast and orchestra, laugh-out-loud comedy, stunning scenery and special effects, beautiful costumes and plenty of boos and hisses for all the family to enjoy… and best of all, Count Arthur Strong!

So, jump aboard a high-flying, magical carpet headed for Old Peking and make tickets for this year’s spectacular Richmond Theatre pantomime one of your three wishes.

We would like to announce that, as already reported in the Radio Times, the BBC One sitcom Count Arthur Strong is regretfully not going to run to a fourth series. A recent BBC announcement stated: “There are no current plans for a further series of Count Arthur Strong on the BBC’. Series co-creator Graham Linehan took to Twitter to thank the BBC Comedy department for their support but also noted that it was difficult to impossible for any series to establish without the support of repeats. On seeing the announcement on Twitter the Count Arthur fans took to social media to voice their surprise and disappointment, even setting up a Change.org petition which clocked up thousands of signatures in the first 24 hours.

The show, written by the characters creator Steve Delaney and Graham Linehan, first aired on BBC Two in 2013 was instantly recommissioned and transferred to BBC One. The second series, aired in summer 2015 (with its transmission run unfortunately interrupted by that year’s general election), drew around 1.2m viewers in 10:35pm slot. Production on a third series was completed in the Autumn of 2016 and the show finally aired in May 2017 in the 8:30pm Friday night slot. The series opened to wide critical acclaim, however, broadcasts halted after two episodes with the snap election resulting in a two week break. Further transmission changes included the penultimate episode being moved to BBC Two due to Wimbledon coverage and series three ended up drawing a similar audience to series two.

Having set out in partnership with Steve Delaney in 2002 with the main objective of creating a Count Arthur Strong TV sitcom, Komedia Entertainment are thankful to the BBC for their support of the character and to their production partners in realising the creation of 20 high quality episodes which will be enjoyed by existing fans and discovered by new ones for years to come.

The three series were co-produced by Komedia Entertainment and Retort TV and the most recent series has just been released on DVD by Network.

Steve Delaney returns as the pompously delusional Count Arthur in this BAFTA-nominated sitcom written by Delaney and Graham Linehan (Father Ted, The IT Crowd). Co-starring Rory Kinnear as Michael, a perpetually nervous writer and the son of Arthur’s late comedy partner, this third series is presented here complete and uncut.

Arthur is enlisted to rid a haunted house of its demonic occupants – though things get worse when a birthday treat for Michael turns into a terrifying battle for survival! Things go downhill from there – what with amnesiac detective work, strange religious organisations, John’s gangster pals… and “”The Soupover””, which is like a sleepover – but with much more soup…

We have had confirmation from the BBC that the Count Arthur Strong TV Series 3 will be starting on the 19th May at 8:30pm and continuing every Friday. . A totally excellent trail that will run on BBC1 from the 13th May so look out for that as well..

Count Arthur Strong, showbiz legend and raconteur, has long claimed a close friendship with 70s It Girl Anita Harris. They now return to release a special record together to aurally consummate their professional relationship. The 7″ vinyl single will be released on the 17th February. Buyers will also have access to a private area where they can download the music and watch the video we made of the recording. To pre-order, go to https://www.countarthurstrong.com/product/somethingstupid/

Count Arthur’s legendary and some might say effortless ascent to showbiz reverence is well documented, not least by Arthur himself in his memoirs “Through It All I’ve Always Laughed”. Anita Harris has had a breath-taking career spanning over fifty years which started when, as a 15 year old, she was spotted on a London ice rink. She has since appeared in two Carry On films, graced the top of the pop charts, become a pantomime legend as Peter Pan, starred in Cats in the West End for 13 years and featured in 7 Royal Command Performances.

Together they are releasing a cover of the Frank and Nancy Sinatra song “Something Stupid”. The B-Side will see Arthur attack “Lovely Day” by Bill Withers.

The results of the Comedy.co.uk Awards 2016 have been revealed and Count Arthur Strong’s Radio Show! Christmas Specials have been voted Best Radio Sitcom 2016.

When told, Count Arthur remarked “I don’t know what to say! The last thing I won was a bottle of White Horse’s in a Knobbly Knees Contest at Butlins, Pwllheli. This is almost as good as that! Apart from the White Horse’s, obviously. I’m sure I speak for all at Komedia Entertainment and Smooth Operations when I say “thank you to all who voted for it/us”… What do I get?”

This is the 11th year British Comedy Guide has run its annual awards. Television event The British Comedy Awards have not taken place since 2014, making the Comedy.co.uk Awards one of the only chances for British comedy programmes and those who create and star in them to be celebrated, and the only awards in which the results are decided entirely by the public.

Tens of thousands of comedy fans cast votes over the past fortnight, first narrowing down all 346 comedy programmes broadcast on radio and television in 2016 into shortlists of six in each category, and then voting again to determine the eventual winners.

A huge thank you to them and many congratulations to everyone involved.